Some really good points there, guys.

I'm not averse to the idea of paying $5-$10 for a doctor's visit. For most people, I think this would not be a big burden. It would be a boost financially for the whole system and would reduce misuse drastically. However there must still be mechanisms whereby people who genuinly can't afford it are given reprieve, either temporary or permanent. Maybe when a person is laid off, the company that lays them off issues them coupons for about 5 visits that can only be used at medical clinics. And for the homeless and people who've been jobless for a long time, the govt. issues these kinds of coupons. I confess I'm not thinking about the administrative hassles that are packaged with all this. But let's ignore those for a moment.

I don't however agree to having two system running in parallel, i.e. a subsidised public system AND a private system. This would create a society of haves and have-nots that raises some serious ethical questions when we talk about something as basic as healthcare. I would rather have a privatised system for everyone (like the U.S.) than both system running in parallel.

Emergency and hospitalisation are a lot trickier to handle though. I doubt if charging certain emergencies while keeping other ones free would work, since the ones who would have to pay would almost certainly feel discriminated against and would challenge this legally. I think the goverment should charge a flat fee for hospitalisation , say 100 bucks. This should be payable over a period of time as opposed to a one-time payment, so that those who can't afford it right away can still access the services. And again, for those unfortunate few who can't afford it altogether, the government (and ultimately we) should bear the expense.

Jake's personal experiences really do hit home when you think about it. A lot of people (including myself) agree that the system as is cannot sustain itself for long, changes will have to be brought about to maintain and improve service and deal with the long delays and declining service levels today. But whatever those may changes be, they should not leave the less fortunate behind.

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Are you there?

The more I think of this, the more I feel that finding the right balance ( that is the gist of what we are talking about) between equity and efficiency in healthcare has so many variables involved that its almost like trying to discuss the meaning of 'life'. It does not mean that we should not try . One thing is for sure! Just like there is no perfect human, there will NEVER be a perfect system either.

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Let me tell you guys once again our health care system is not goin down because of money... forget about $5-10 you invest 1 billion more still it will go down if it is not managed properly.


Thanks and regards.
Biomed

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"Change before you have to" : Jack Welch

Quote:

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Orginally posted by biomed

Let me tell you guys once again our health care system is not goin down because of money... forget about $5-10 you invest 1 billion more still it will go down if it is not managed properly.


Thanks and regards.
Biomed

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To manage health care system effectively provincial government should appoint Supervisors for each hospital to control and supervise their spending and quality management.

Thanks and regards.
biomed

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"Change before you have to" : Jack Welch

The most surprising thing about the canadain healthcare system is that there is no parallel private system. In india and other countries atleast there is a private hospital and doctor system where one can pay premium price and get better quicker service but Canadian system is strange at best and dangerous at worst.

On the other extreme of medical systems is the govt controlled healthcare system in Hongkong. A friend happend to get malaria soon after returning from vacation in India. He was kept at no cost in a "5 star" like hopsital for 15 days, in a single room with cable TV and a computer by his bed(they charged $10 for the computer) . To top it off he kept getting visitations from a hospital nurse for 3 months just to make sure he is doing ok. After seeing him, i was hoping to get a chance to get hospitalized as well... but never had the furtune for experience it.Talk about waste of resources.

I am very new to canada, but going by the versions i hear from old timers it doesnt seem that Canadian system is anywhere close.
Atleast on emergency cases they should get their act together.

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What can be imagined, can be achieved.

Mishter India,

This gives me another point - emergency, or at times, simple urgency, should be defined as any condition where it becomes almost impossible for a person to be able to perform ordinary chores of his daily life - and not as a situation where if that problem is not attended to immediately, the person would die.

So, if an otherwise young and healthy person develops some unknown problem in his ear due to which he is neither able to hear properly, nor able to walk on his own (and therefore can neither drive, nor attend office, or bathe on his own) should be defined as an emergency. However, in Canadian Health system, this is not defined as a reasonably good cause to jump the queue and see the specialist immediately!

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Chandresh

Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!